SB19 - The EPITOME of SUCCESS Through HARD WORK

GET INTO THE ZONE!

For me the quintessential music would be the classical and theatre musicals.  It may be an elitist view but spare me for a bit here because I grew up with a grandmother who was trained in classical music and an aunt who would not listen to any genre of music except for broadway tunes.  The rebel in me would at times sound trip with my classmates in high school listening to cheesy music from the juke boxes aligned in street cafes near the school premises.  I do have my prejudice favouring some types of music but overall I can say that I appreciate a wide range of music genres.  Pop of course will always be there.  I would from time to time obsess over certified hits. 

If there was one pop boy band that really made a mark in my childhood days it would be MENUDO.  For those of you who have not heard of Menudo, it's a band composed of 4 Puerto Rican good-looking boys.  Or was there 5 members?  Geez, I can no longer remember.  Anyway, if you knew La Vida Loca Ricky Martin, then you should know that he was the youngest member of Menudo back then.  Their looks totally took them to a whole new level of popularity.  But there is no denying their talent and the amount of hard work they put in into their performances.  You would not believe the kind of popularity they had.  It would be along side One Direction and BTS.  That's debatable of course because back then there is no Internet but they were able to conquer the global market.  So, I suppose they should be considered one of the greats.

And now comes... (drum roll please) Sound Break 19 or popularly referred to as SB19.

I am a 48 year old snob mind you!  But OMG!!!  I was mesmerized and hooked by this Pinoy boy band.  Saying that they are a breath of fresh air is an understatement.  Would you like to know why I was so impressed with SB19?  Well then, read on...

The boys of SB19 from left to right are Justin, Sejun, Ken, Stell, and Josh.  I took the picture from their official YouTube channel SB19 Official.  So, copyright credit to the owner (CCTO).  I hope you don't mind me using your picture.  Thanks!

The Pinoy Shutterbug

My very first shot of the moon.  I used a Vivitar telephoto lens with a Canon entry-level camera.  I was lucky, don't you think?  The craters are noticeable in this picture.  No post-processing was done with this picture.

I love taking pictures.  I call myself, "The Pinoy Shutterbug".  For me, it's like capturing emotions.  Even an inanimate object when photographed on a certain lighting condition can evoke a certain kind of emotion in us.  I remember our very first camera.  It was an "instamatic" Kodak camera.  It was one of the few things my Dad bought in Japan in the 70's.  At that time, we have to load films (which are then available in rolls of 12's, 24's, and 36's) and use disposable flash bulbs (that cubic bulb that rotate each time it flashes).   Because  the film and flash bulbs are very pricey, we were only able to capture "Kodak moments" on special occasions.

"What's Your Mix?" Ad Campaign Fiasco

LET'S MIX AND MATCH.

I am 50% enraged and 50% offended by Bayo's "What's your mix?" campaign ad.

I am 100% Filipino.

I am 100% human.

I am 100%, a free-thinking individual.

I feel;  I talk;  I dream;  I love;  just like everybody else.

I am 100% beautiful.  My mom tells me so.  LOL.

Seriously, do you have to be "part something else" to be considered beautiful or world class?  The answer is a resounding "NO"!

WHAT'S YOUR MIX?

BAYO, a local clothing company that sells off the peg female apparel, featured models of mixed descent in their "What's your mix?" ad campaign.  They are all beautiful, as any ad campaign for a clothing line would.  There were 50%Australian-50%Filipino; 40%British-60%Filipino;  30%Indian-70%Filipino;  and 80%Chinese-20%Filipino models.  How Bayo came up with these percentages is truly baffling to me.  Maybe Bayo enlisted a geneticist who determined the dominant and recessive genes of these models and came up with the percentages through an examination of their DNA and chromosomal composition.  Where's truth in advertising here???  LOL.

The ad said, "Call it biased, but the mixing and matching of different nationalities with a Filipino blood is almost a sure formula for someone beautiful and world class.".  Can you believe it?

Hello?  It's awfully biased… and racist!  LOL.  The ad is not even sure of a 100% formula.  Theirs is an "almost sure formula".  How outrageous!  Bayo already apologized to the public yesterday, and said that they will take out the ads off the market.

A DIFFERENT TAKE ON CONSUMERS.

When you patronize a business that's peddling their merchandize through giant billboards of caucasian men and women from Hollywood, you empower them and apparently set a trend.  What's the trend you ask?  Let's examine.  Just recently, two competing clothing companies have enlisted the services of "IT" stars of Hollywood.  Let's list them: (1) Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, (2) Zac Efron of the High School Musical fame, (3) Ian Somerhalder of Vampire Diaries, (4) Ed Westwick of Gossip Girls, and (5) Leighton Meester of Gossip Girls.

Buyers going gaga over these gorgeous and hunky white men equates to more sales for the clothing company.  This must be the case otherwise, why would these relatively expensive actors and actresses come here in the Philippines one after another to endorse these clothing lines?

So, would you blame Bayo for coming up of an ad campaign that appeals to the rotten colonial mentality of some Filipinos, which is still apparently pervasive,  that anything related to foreigners must be good?…  that if you mix the Filipino blood with something else, would "almost" surely guarantee beauty and world class caliber?  Or would you also blame some of the consumers who have a deeply ingrained mentality of inferiority, and believe that by "enhancing" their lineage through interracial marriage would somehow guarantee a better life for their children?

It's 70% Bayo and 30% consumers to blame.

BE PROUD OF YOUR HERITAGE.

Have you forgotten where your ancestors have been?  Have you forgotten the sacrifices your 100% Filipino ancestors have given up just so you enjoy your liberties?  Have you forgotten the beautiful and world class 100% Filipinos who have contributed so much to the upliftment of the Filipinos in the world scene?  Here's a simple reminder for you young Filipinos.  Here's a list of 5 100% Filipinos who made it big in the international arena.  Could you tell their contributions to the world?

100% INDEPENDENT.

To all FIlipinos:  On June 12, we celebrate our 114th Independence Day.  Iam 100% sure that most of you are more excited about Manny Pacquiao's fight against Bradley on June 10.  Some of you may have even forgotten about the Independence Day celebration.  So, please don't forget to display your Philippine flags on the 12th and contemplate on the things you as an individual and as a Filipino can contribute to the betterment of our beloved country.  Let us all stand proud as 100% Filipinos.